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Apex Legends’ New Character Octane Is Live: Here’s What He Can Do
The first new addition to Apex Legends‘ character roster is here along with its first season and its first battle pass. There are a lot of cool things coming with the battle pass, but the biggest change to the game is Octane, its newest character. Octane changes up the game with a focus on adrenaline–he’s a character who benefits from moving fast, sacrificing health for speed. He can also change up the battlefield by getting characters into places they couldn’t previously reach, and when facing him, expect to be looking up, since he can help enemy players descend on you from above.
Octane is an aggressive character, so if you’re going to use him, expect to be in the fight a lot. He should operate similarly to Wraith, Bangalore, and Mirage, allowing you to close distance quickly with his speed abilities. It sounds like while Wraith and Mirage are positioned more as flanking characters who distract enemies, Octane operates more like Bangalore as a front-line fighter. His abilities should make him tougher to hit, and when you do take damage, you’ll likely be able to deal with it more easily.
Like other characters, Octane packs three abilities: one passive, one activated by a button push, and one ultimate that takes a long time to charge up. Octane’s active ability lets him boost his speed at the cost of his health, increasing his movement speed by 30% for six seconds. That allows you to jet around the battlefield, drawing fire or flanking enemies while being much tougher to hit. To counteract the fact that Octane is the only character who sacrifices his own health for his abilities, his passive ability slowly regenerates at a rate of one health point every two seconds. That should also help in tough battle situations if you’re able to hide or get to safety, but you’re short on healing items.
For an ultimate, Octane’s ability should change a lot of battles. He can drop a launch pad on the ground that springs players through the air, allowing you to send your teammates flying in on enemy positions, or giving you a chance to bounce out of the battle and back to safety. The verticality is going to mean players will need to get used to looking up more when Octane is on the battlefield, since you never know when death might be descending from above.
We’ll have more coverage of Octane coming soon, including a full guide on how to use him most effectively. Until then, check out our other character guides, as well as our Apex Legends pro tips and a rundown of things the game doesn’t tell you.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/apex-legends-new-character-octane-is-live-heres-wh/1100-6465681/
Angry Birds AR Game Announced For iOS
Angry Birds developer Rovio has announced a new game in its popular bird-flinging franchise. Angry Birds AR: Isle of Pigs, the series’ first-ever step into augmented reality, is coming exclusively to iOS devices in late spring, with pre-orders opening in the App Store today, March 19.
Like other Angry Birds games, the object of Isle of Pigs is to slingshot your small flock of birds at increasingly complex block towers, toppling them over and crushing the pigs lurking within. The game is divided up into four themed worlds and is “initially launching with at least 40 levels,” according to Rovio, suggesting more may be on the way.
Where Isle of Pigs differs from most other Angry Birds games is that it reinterprets the series’ gameplay in a 3D space. Using Apple’s ARKit technology, the game overlays the levels onto your surroundings, making them appear as though they were in the real-world. You still drag your finger on the screen to draw the slingshot back and fire your birds, but like the series’ VR spin-off, you’ll be doing so from a first-person perspective rather than a side-on view.
The AR tech also allows you to get a 360-degree view of each level. You can maneuver your iPhone or iPad around to better angle your shots, and many levels feature explosive blocks and other items hidden around the back, encouraging you to play around with the angle in order to clear the stages in as few shots as possible.
Angry Birds AR: Isle of Pigs will be free to download when it launches, with optional in-app purchases. The game will be compatible with any iOS device that supports ARKit, meaning it can run on iPhone 6 and newer models, as well as fifth- and sixth-generation iPads and all iPad Pro devices.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/angry-birds-ar-game-announced-for-ios/1100-6465665/
Anthem Launch “Rougher Than Expected,” BioWare Still Committed
Anthem‘s launch had its share of issues, from crash bugs to weapon balance bugs and more. Now BioWare general manager Casey Hudson has conceded to the launch issues while also recommitting to long-term support.
In a post-launch update on the BioWare Blog, Hudson says it was a “rougher launch than expected,” and says that the studio was “ready for the possibility that unexpected issues might arise.” In a broader sense, he said that the degree of the problems didn’t become apparent until the scale of players had increased, and that the studio shares in the community’s disappointment at these issues.
“It makes me sad to hear about any issues that would hold someone back from fully enjoying the game,” Hudson said. “I take that very personally, and it’s been our top priority to get improvements out to you in the fastest, safest way.”
He then transitioned to plans for the future, explaining that improvements are coming to endgame loot, game flow, and stability. This is in addition to adding more world events and story content, as outlined in its roadmap.
“But we understand there is skepticism out there,” he continued. “We hear the criticisms and doubts. But we’ll keep going anyway, working hard every day on Anthem – an ever-changing world, constantly improving and growing, and supported well into the future by our team of passionate developers.”
Anthem’s rocky launch has included crashing PS4 consoles that forced Sony to issue refunds, an update inadvertently broke the game, and mediocre reviews. At one point a bug made Legendary and Masterwork items more common, and BioWare irked players by fixing it. The studio later issued a patch that adjusted drop rates more intentionally.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/anthem-launch-rougher-than-expected-bioware-still-/1100-6465678/
